The last several days were filled with visits and conversations, making me feel very good. Yesterday, Anna and her family visited me, and the highlight of the day was going skating at Millennium Park. I told Nadia a long time ago that I would teach her to skate, and we pretty much did it yesterday! She was able to glide for a bit, and she got the feeling of skating rather than walking on ice. I am sure that next time she is on the skating rink, she will skate on her own.
We also had a short visit to the Art Institue and saw the Neapolitan Creche, and then we came back to my house, and Anna made dinner for everybody. Initially, we didn’t plan to eat at home, but we ended up having lunch and dinner at my house. Lunch was a takeout, and then Anna made an awesome paste dinner. I rarely make pasta for myself because it is challenging to make pasta for one :). So it was all good.
I received two presents with my Saturday mail: one from my very dear friend in Chicago and one from my friends in Ireland.
I also visited with my ground floor neighbor, and my former coworker and his wife visited this morning. Lots of cookies were distributed :), and I still have some left!
Also, since I had so many pumpkins from the CSA, I tried to make a pumpkin pie for the first time in my life. I think it was decent, just that the crust was not great – the store closest to me didn’t have the right kind. But I think I figured out the filling!
There was nothing special in all these activities, but these small things helped me feel that the holiday season was here. It makes me happy to know that I could reach out to so many people, and if not to meet before Christmas, at least find the time to meet at the beginning of the year.
Hettie's Reflections 